Prakash Amritraj began his quest for a third successive title in style. He beat qualifier Shivang Mishra 6-3, 6-4 in the first round of the US $10,000 ITF Futures men's tennis tournament in Delhi on Tuesday.
With a booming serve and a backhand that fetched him some stunning cross-court winners, the fifth seeded US-based Indian was in control throughout.
It was smooth-sailing for Prakash from the very first set as he broke Shivang once before pocketing the opener in little over half an hour.
Shivang was guilty of committing too many double faults at crucial junctures against an opponent quick to pounce on the errors.
The second set followed a similar script as Shivang continued to struggle with his erratic serve. With most of his forehand returns also landing outside, Shivang stood no chance against his disciplined opponent.
Luck also did not go the qualifier's way as a controversial line call made it a double-fault in the fifth game and gave Prakash a break of serve. Shivang did protest but to no avail.
There was no stopping the fifth seed after that and he wrapped up the proceedings in no time with a flurry of aces and some excellent returns from the baseline.
"I have been in the form of my life for the past two weeks and today was no different," Prakash said after the match.
With a cool breeze bringing down the temperatures a bit, Prakash said the pleasant weather also helped him.
"It is more humid than what I had expected. But today it was still okay with the breeze. Preferably you wouldn't play in such conditions but I don't really mind because I like to test myself in tough conditions," he said.
Having completely recovered from the wrist injury, which forced him out of action for close to seven months last year, Prakash said he has comeback as a more confident and stronger player.
"I re-evaluated my goals during the time away from court and I have comeback more focused. I always had the game but the injury break made me stronger," he said.
Prakash will next take on another qualifier Gusharan Singh, who beat Nitin Kirtane 6-4, 6-2 in another first round match.
Meanwhile, Sanam Singh beat Prakash's cousin Stephen Amritraj 6-3, 6-4 in the first round. The scoreline, however, hardly reflects the battle between the evenly-matched players.
Both players executed some long rallies and it all came down to endurance as Sanam came out tops.
